My compressor run my sandblaster?

I have a craftsman 1hp, 3gal air compressor. Can i use this with a sandblaster, and if so what size will fit this small compressor?

_______________Jdub, it is pretty hard to answer this question for you without knowing a bit more information.

Your air compressor is pretty small, and will put out about 4 CFM of compressed air at 90 PSI.

Your 3 gallon air tank will supply a sand blaster for only a few seconds before becoming empty, and since your compressor is so small, it will be running continuously trying to catch-up with the air in the tank, and will not be able to do so while you are running the blaster.

You do need to read the pages on this site regarding SIZING an air compressor. You haven't provided the info I, or you, need to determine if your air compressor is adequate.

However, I strongly suspect that if you try to run your sandblaster with a 1 HP air compressor, you will not have any success. Sandblasters are high demand air tools, and your little compressor won't even come close to the flow needed.

Sand blaster surge and no sand?

by Brent
(Britt Ia)

Low cost 10 Gal. pot blaster - Sand blaster surge and no sand.

I have a low cost 10 Gal. pot blaster and I am using it for the first time.

It has new, dry sand in it, the hose has never been used and I have a sixty gallon air compressor pushing air, and the sand flow is extremely irregular and the sand also doesn't flow at all at times. How can I remedy this?_____________________My little sand blaster works very well for a few seconds with my 30 gallon tank, and then dies down completely as the small compressor tries to catch up. I have to stop and wait for the tank to fill before I can blast again. So, I don't use my kit for much as I am not going to buy a bigger air compressor for my shop just to use a blaster.

You do not give me any info on your compressor itself, motor HP for example, so I have no idea if your compressor is big enough for what is, usually, a high air demand air tool.

I am happy to post this for you Brett so that someone that uses compressed air for sand blasting can help too.

If your air compressor is working properly, and it has enough air flow and pressure for the sand blaster, then you need to talk to the supplier of the blast equipment too.

Sand blaster air consumption?

On your page about air consumption, it is listed that a sand blaster will consume 300+ CFM. That seems like a whole lot.

Maybe you made a mistake there on that page because I've looked at other websites and they list sand blasting CFMs a lot lower, I think that the highest listed that I saw was 150 CFM.

I'm just a hobbiest more or less, so I don't need a huge compressor. What would you suggest?--Matthew ______________Hi Matthew...

Your comment is a valid one in that there are hand-sized sand blasters that use minimal air, and sand blast booths that will use hundreds of CFM of compressed air to work properly.

Rather than showing a range, I simply picked what I felt was the middle of the road.

You say "I'm just a hobbiest more or less, so I dont need a huge compressor."

Well, depending on the hobby, you may need a huge compressor, or, for example, if you are brushing a few small plastic models, a really small air compressor will do.

Which leads me to your question... somewhere in the specs for your air using equipment, should be information about that equipments air demand, typically in PSI and CFM.

I cannot suggest a compressor size, as I do not know what your air tool requirements are.

Without that information being used in the sourcing of your compressor, you are destined to either get one that is too big, to small, but rarely an air compressor that is right on in terms of air supply versus air demand.